Misunderstanding
by wolfraven80
Summary: AxH The infamous Artemis Fowl and the legendary Captain Holly Short: since he'd begun working at the LEP he'd always thought there was something unusual about them, but it was only when he got to see it with his own eyes that the pieces fell into place.
1. Prologue

**(Mis)understanding**

**Prologue**

It was the last intercept that clinched it in Klu Suspean's mind.

You didn't become a data analyst in the LEP without having a knack for interpreting information and extrapolating from it. It was like doing a jigsaw puzzle with only half the pieces: you had to fill in the gaps. In his fifteen years as a junior analyst working under Foaly, Klu had become an expert at filling in gaps. And when it came to Artemis Fowl he'd been trying to fill in the missing pieces for years.

He'd been monitoring the latest situation all week amidst his regular duties. Foaly's scopes (his communications monitoring system) could listen in on every communications signal on the planet and under it, and cull the 99.99% that was irrelevant to the People. But it was up to his small team of analysts to sift through the remaining 0.01% – which was harder than it sounded with the communications boom among the Mud Men in the past half century. Most of it was dull enough to put a insomniac to sleep before you could say "narcolepsy." Klu had had to listen in to more than his share of Dungeons and Dragons games and excited fan babble about the latest fantasy movie to include fairies, dwarves, and underground havens, but this week's surveillance duties had been different: Fowl had been involved.

Klu had had suspicions about the Mud Man for years and this was the drop that made the bucket overflow.

The video feed came from Police Plaza itself. The main lobby. There they were, Artemis Fowl and Captain Holly Short. It was quite the little tableau in the midst of the bustle of convicts and officers surrounding them: Fowl leaning down to place his hands on the Captain's slim shoulders, his eyes locked with hers, her hands gripping his forearms. The audio had been a mess what with the chain gang of goblins being brought in by a team of officers at the time. He'd only been able to restore one line, but that line was enough.

'_I want you, Holly_.'


	2. One: For the Record

**One: For the Record**

It had been more than a dozen years since the People had encountered Artemis Fowl. At the time of the first incident Klu's work had been focussed on refining the intercept system's keyword dictionary (he'd spent a lot of time before that sifting through pages about "obvious trolls" and "Stargate Atlantis") rather than signals intercepts, so he'd been out of the loop when it had all started. He'd had a lot of catching up to do since then.

Foaly was quite proprietary of his recordings – both audio and visual – and rumour had it they hadn't all been obtained with proper authorization. He often replayed chunks of recordings and was seen swinging between angles, enhancing frames, as if he expected to spot Opal Koboi hiding in a corner if he could just get the right angle. The footage was alternately fascinating, tedious, and occasionally, eyebrow-raising. The first time Klu had entered the operations booth to get Foaly's signature and heard him replaying a recording from one of the Artemis Fowl incidents, it had been hard to keep his mind from immediately trying to fill in the missing pieces.

'That depends.' Klu's pointed elfin ears perked up. English. With an accent from the old country.

'On what?' And that was surely Commander Root's voice.

'On whether you give me Holly.'

Give him... Holly? What under the world... Klu was about to ask but Foaly's fingers were already clacking on the keyboard, switching to another file.

From over Foaly's shoulder, Klu could see an image of Fowl. By the angle, he suspected the video feed came from an LEP helmet. Fowl was in a small, spartan room... pointing to what looked to Klu like a heap of... pillows? 'You anticipated me,' Fowl said. The hairs on the back of Klu's neck stood on end.

Klu started as Foaly gave a snort. "Well? Have something for me?" He was holding out his hand for the e-forms Klu had brought for him to initial.

"Sorry, Sir," Klu murmured, his eyes flitting once more to the screen where the recoding continued to play.

'–actly.' It was Captain Short's voice wafting out of Foaly's speakers. Klu was certain. 'I think we're getting to know one another too well.'

Foaly handed over the e-forms and the digi-pen and Klu knew without being told he was dismissed. He spent the rest of that day trying to figure out how the pillows fit into it...

**ooo**

The second time had been a year or so later while Foaly had been working on the Hybras situation with Section Eight. Klu had happily followed with him to Section Eight, certain that his loyalty and discretion would earn him a promotion within the new organization. No such luck.

Foaly had an audio feed playing when Klu came in with the latest batch of reports. 'Foaly shouldn't spy on me.' It was that same voice with the Irish accent Klu had heard once before: Artemis Fowl.

Foaly snorted. "That's rich."

"Is this a bad time, sir?" Klu asked, pausing in the doorway. "I've got the weekly reports."

"No, bring them over." Klu handed them to the centaur. "Anything I actually need to know about?"

"Er..."

Foaly was scanning through the e-reports. "A new _World of Warcraft_ expansion, a movie version of _Journey to the Centre of the Earth_–" He sniffed. "A masterpiece in the making right there. And..." He paused a moment. "Dr Zito starting a another project. Flag that. We might have do something about that in another decade or so." Klu suppressed a groan; he didn't intend to still be a junior analyst in ten years. "Suspean? You hear me?"

"Sorry, sir. Flag that. Yes." It was hard to concentrate when the recoding was still running, 'Excuse me, Captain. Are you two going to weep salty tears of admiration over a helmet all night or do we have matters to discuss?'

"Level three flag."

"Yes, sir."

And then Captain Short's voice again. 'Okay, Mud Boy, I'm all yours.'

Klu's eyebrows shot up. Foaly's brows creased and he hastily reached for a button and muted the audio feed. "Right. Level three and make sure the keywords are added to the database."

"Yes, sir." Once again Klu thought of asking, but he'd rather not be on the receiving end of Folay's sarcasm so he kept his questions to himself and headed back to his console.

**ooo**

It wasn't that interspecies courtship was unheard of – after all one of the LEP officers Klu had known, a sprite by the name of Chix Verbil, would chat up anything female that moved– but Artemis Fowl was another matter. A) he was a Mud Man and everyone knew how dangerous a lot they were; it was in their genes, a whole race predisposed towards violence; and b) he was a known criminal and constant threat to the People. Surely whatever he had planned for Captain Short could not be good.

If Artemis Fowl had somehow blackmailed, or perhaps even seduced, Captain Short... The very thought made Klu shudder every time he considered it. And he'd had a great deal of time to consider it during the three year lull in Fowl activity while the Mud Man and Captain Short had been trapped on Hybras. Three more years of analysing chatter. Not even the top secret stuff but the same inane intercepts as always. It was enough to make his ears droop and his hair start to grey, though he was just barely ninety-two.

The third time, though, had been the clincher. He'd walked into Foaly's ops booth (he'd of course followed the centaur back to the LEP) only to find him staring at a vid feed that featured the young warlock, No 1, Captain Holly Short, and – of course – Artemis Fowl.

No sooner had he walked in than the Mud Man spoke. 'How long will it take you to weave the spell?'

The warlock reflected for a moment and said, 'About as long as it takes you two to remove your clothing.'

Upon which Klu turned on his heel and left.

* * *

**A/N:** All the quotes except the one from the prologue are from the books, though used completely out of context as they sound rather more amusing that way. ;D For reference here they are:

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On whether you give me Holly."

_The Eternity Code_ Ch 7 p 146

**ooo**

Artemis pointed to the pillows. "You anticipated me."

[...]

"Exactly. I think we're getting to know one another too well."

_The Eternity Code_ Ch 10 p 232

**ooo**

"Okay, Mud Boy, I'm all yours."

_The Lost Colony_ Ch4 p95

**ooo**

"How long will it take you to weave the spell?"

[...] "About as long as it takes you two to remove your clothing."

_The Time Paradox_ ch 5 p90


	3. Two: Taken in

**Two: Taken in**

"And that," Foaly drawled, "wraps up this briefing."

Klu sighed as he put away his e-files. Foaly's idea of a staff meeting was one in which he spent twenty minutes updating them on his latest breakthroughs and five going over their reports. As usual, Klu's work had been completely overlooked. Maybe he should get out of the intercept business entirely. He'd heard the Atlantis tourism agency was seeking new agents...

"Suspean, hang on," Foaly called after him as the other analysts began to file out of the room.

Klu's heart began to race. "Sir?" Maybe he'd missed something. There had been that weird

intercept about demons and warlocks, but he was almost certain in was just another role playing session he'd dropped in on. Mud Men had the strangest ideas about fairies... the artwork alone was enough to make your head spin.

"I've got a special assignment for you."

Klu straightened. "I'm all ears, sir." He winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

"You and all the other elves," Foaly quipped– rather predictably, Klu thought– with a snicker. "I need you to keep a close eye on the Artemis Fowl feed."

Klu's breath caught in his throat. "The Artemis Fowl feed?" he repeated, not quite believing his pointed elfin ears.

"Yes, Suspean. Artemis Fowl. You may have heard of him? Kidnapped an LEP officer, averted a goblin rebellion, saved Hybras, graced us with _two_ Opal Kobois?"

"Of course, sir. What should I be looking out for?"

"Keep an eye on all his communications and report any irregularities in the signal – any blackouts, unusual feedback or readings, interference. Anything that's out of the ordinary. Clear enough?"

"Yes sir."

As he walked out of the room, Klu couldn't keep a grin from spreading over his features. This was it. His big chance. And all he had to do was listen...

**ooo**

Most of the Fowl feed was benign. The Mud Man remained at his dwelling. Nothing linking back to the People– no emails or calls. Nothing. It wasn't until two days into his assignment that Klu first got to intercept a real message.

Klu nearly fell out of his chair when the readout reported an incoming audio signal to Fowl Manor, a signal originating from Haven City. He scrambled for his headphones, looping them over his ears and waiting for the stretch-foam to expand around his earlobes and block out the ambient noise of his workplace.

'–good to hear your voice. How are you? I wasn't expecting you to call today.' Fowl. Klu took deep breaths to calm his racing pulse as it pounded in his ears.

'I'm fine.' Klu bit his lip. It was Captain Short's voice. Captain Short had placed a call to the Mud Man. Unbelievable. And the others had said he'd been watching too many human spy movies when he'd said there was something up with those two. 'Just calling to check in – make sure you're not backsliding.'

'I assure you, Holly, between you, my parents, and the twins, I have nowhere to go but the straight and narrow.'

'I've heard _that_ line before.'

He sniffed. 'I hardly think recovering Munch's _Scream_ and returning it to the Munch Museum can be said to constitute backsliding.'

'Honestly, Artemis,' Captain Short said, sounding rather exasperated, to Klu's ears. 'Where would you be now if you hadn't had the People to keep your devious mind occupied?'

'Off plotting some sort of unpleasant mischief, most likely.'

The captain snorted. 'Mischief.'

'I don't deny my future prospects are much rosier now.'

'In spite of... everything?' Captain Short whispered.

'Yes. _Scientia est potentia_.' The gift of tongues allowed Klu to understand the Latin as easily as the English: knowledge is power. 'I know full well what I was and I'd not choose that path again.'

'You know, my life changed too when I met you.'

'I note that you didn't say that the change was for the better.'

'Hmm... That depends on who you ask. I know what the commander would say.'

'Is Commander Kelp still upset about that incident with the gryphon?' Fowl said archly.

'After the mess you left behind?' Captain Short retorted, incredulous.

'It was for the greater good.'

The captain sniffed. 'Trouble suggested I was trying to sabotage my career just to get more surface time.'

'I assume you told the commander that that's preposterous.'

'Of course,' Captain Short replied. 'I said that if anyone was trying to sabotage my career it was you.'

'Holly, you wound me.'

'Crocodile tears won't save you now, Fowl.'

A chuckle. 'You know me too well, Captain.'

'After all this time I should.' There was a moment's pause and Klu found himself holding his breath, his whole body taut as he waited for them to continue.

'Now come, Holly, why did you really call?'

She heaved a sigh. 'Has anything unusual been happening on your end?'

'Things have been quiet here. Is something wrong?'

'Hmm.... Not exactly wrong but... Something's going on with the LEP. There's been the sort of activity you'd expect before an operation, I'm almost certain, but no one's said a word to me. I just have a bad feeling. Have you noticed anything? Anything at all?'

'Such as what?'

Captain Short huffed in frustration. 'If I knew I wouldn't be asking.'

'I promise you, I've seen no signs of trolls, rogue fairies, or dematerializing demons at Fowl Manor all week.'

A sigh. 'I should go then. I'll be in touch. Tell Butler I said hello.'

'Of course.'

'Artemis...'

'I know,' he said quietly.

And then the signal ended.

**ooo**

Klu was settled in for a quiet lunch at his console and was nibbling at his vegetable fries when an emergency message opened up on his screen, sending him starting out of his seat.

"Lunchtime, is it?" Foaly's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Sorry, sir," Klu said, brushing veggie fries off Foaly's image.

"We're about to have a situation at Fowl Manor. Monitor and report any abnormalities in the signal. And use your helmet. The feed's priority clearance only."

"Yes, sir."

Foaly's image blinked out and Klu reached for his intercept helmet. It wasn't nearly as sophisticated as the Recon helmets, but it had all the tools an analyst could want in addition to keeping both audio and visual signals private.

The vid screen came down before his eyes and a second later sparked to life, showing him a feed of Fowl Manor. The image swayed and he glanced at his readings.

"D'Arvit!" he muttered under his breath. He was tapped into an LEP helmet feed. The officer wearing the helmet shifted once again and Klu groaned, his head spinning. He really wished he hadn't had that mushroom burger now...

It was nighttime aboveground. Bathed in moonlight, Fowl Manor looked like a small mountain, looming over the low-lying grounds. The Recon jocks were always talking about the surface, about the joys of flight and fresh air, and the scents of plants. But as the sculpted gargoyles leered down from the manor's heights, Klu shuddered, feeling quite assured that it was too high a price for pine-scented air. He'd settle for air-fresheners and potpourri. Much less risk of premature death that way.

Klu ran through his initial checks. The signal was crisp and clear. No interference at all and none of the tell-tale signs of a piggyback signal. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The Recon team was already on the grounds, holding their position and keeping quite still, much to the relief of Klu's stomach. Klu checked his readouts, curious. A three person-team: Corporals Pennywort and Cranesbill and Captain Stonecrop. Hmm. Holly Short, the foremost expert on Artemis Fowl was not part of the team. This was unprecedented. Klu's mind started filling in the gaps.

One of the higher ups must have had the same suspicions he'd had these past years. And now they were taking Fowl in... That must be it. What else could it be?

There. Out on the lawn. Fowl, taking an evening walk, it seemed.

'Move out,' Stonecrop ordered. Klu wiped slick palms on his trousers, heart in his throat. The team began to move. And so did Klu's stomach.

The Recon team moved with practised efficiency taking up positions around Fowl, weapons drawn even though they were still shielded. With the new suits there was not even a shimmer to give them away. Hands in his pockets, Fowl strolled towards a patch of the grounds where a large number of oak saplings sprouted out of the earth. And then he stood there, just... stood there, gaze fixed on the infant oaks.

After a few moments Fowl glanced up. 'Is there something I can do you for you, gentlemen?'

The video image jerked as Stonecrop started. 'Stay shielded,' he said through his intercom. 'I'll talk to him.' There was a slight flicker as Stonecrop moved into the visible spectrum, immediately before Fowl so that Klu found himself staring into the Mud Man's peculiar blue and hazel eyes – eyes that exactly matched Captain Short's. '_Artemis Fowl, we need you to come with us._' Stonecrop's voice was laced with the hypnotic _mesmer_.

Fowl heaved a sigh. 'Is this really necessary?" he said, his voice already distant, his eyes glazing over. 'I've been to the Lower Elements before.'

'_Come quietly, Fowl. In fact, take a nap._'

No sooner had he said it than Fowl crumpled to the ground.

'We've got him,' Stonecrop reported on the LEP frequency. 'We're heading to Tara now.'

**ooo**

Klu yawned. After the excitement of watching Fowl's capture, the rest of his shift was proving rather anticlimactic. They brought Fowl down by shuttle and then laid him out on a pallet in a detention room. He'd been asleep ever since. A bench had been added to the end of pallet so that Fowl's feet wouldn't dangle over the end. It would have been comical if Klu hadn't known what Fowl was capable of.

From his post safely behind his console, several corridors and several locked doors away, Klu adjusted the detention room's camera controls, focussing in on the sleeping Mud Man. He wore a dark blue suit, no tie, collar unbuttoned. There were grass stains on his white shirt from his tumble at Stonecrop's command to sleep. His black locks were mussed and a hint of dark bristle smudged his chin. Eyes closed, facial muscles relaxed with sleep, he looked like any Mud Man. You'd never guess he was the dastardly mastermind of a plan that involved kidnapping a fairy and then somehow putting her under his power for reasons Klu still could not fathom.

According to the file, he was twenty – or twenty three, depending on how you counted – but to be honest Klu could hardly tell Mud Men's age's. They were all so tall and they aged so quickly, who could keep track? Was twenty old for their kind? He'd have to check the "human to fairy" conversion chart again.

Fowl's eyes snapped open. For a moment he lay quite still, his brow creasing, and then he swung his legs over the side of the pallet and sat up. His blue and hazel eyes scanned the room, left to right, up and down. Careful. Methodical. At his console, Klu shivered.

It was right about then that he heard yelling from down the hall. A female voice. Klu shrank into his seat. Captain Short had arrived and right now Klu wouldn't want be Stonecrop for all the high-tech surveillance gear under the world.

**ooo**

The door to the detention room swung open and Captain Short strode in. The door shut just as quickly behind her and she shot it a look that would have sent grown dwarves burrowing into the earth as fast as their jaws could chew. Her gaze softened as she turned to look at the Mud Man and Klu found himself holding his breath, waiting for the audio signal to come in.

'Artemis, are you all right?'

'There's no need to be concerned, Holly. I'm fine,' he said, a smile touching his lips. 'If a little rumpled,' he added as he inspected a streak of mud on his shirt.

'I can't believe the commander authorized this. I wasn't informed. I wasn't even here; I was off dealing with a troop of goblins.'

'Foaly informed you when you returned, I assume.'

'Yes. He told me what happened.' Shaking her head, Captain Short took a seat next to Fowl on the pallet. Her brow was furrowed into a scowl. 'I couldn't even get in to see Trouble. I don't know what's going on.'

'I'm certain everything will become clear in due course.'

She sighed and then turned to look Fowl in the face. 'I'm sorry about all this.'

'It's quite all right. I'm well aware that trust is more difficult to earn than to lose.' Klu thought he glimpsed a flicker in those cold eyes and his mind was racing to fill in the gaps.Trust. Klu snorted. Trickery. Perhaps he'd developed something akin to the _mesmer_, some human form of hypnotism. Certainly Captain Short seemed unable to break eye contact with the Mud Man.

She smiled wanly. 'That's behind us, Artemis,' she said patting his knee. He looked ungainly, long legs stretched out in front of him on the pallet made for fairy proportions. The captain sighed. 'I wish you could see Haven someday. I'd like to be able to show you my home.' And then, her lips quirking, 'Especially when I've gotten such a good look at yours.'

Fowl's eyes flickered up to the corner of the room where the hidden camera through which Klu was observing happened to be located, and Klu was unsettled to find that pair of mismatched eyes staring straight at him. Fowl's lips curved into a smile that could only be termed smug – and then the screen went dark.


	4. Three: A Meeting of Minds

**Three: A Meeting of Minds**

The group gathered around the LEP conference room table was more than a little intimidating. Commander Trouble Kelp was seated at the head of the table flanked by a pair of majors whose names Klu couldn't even remember at present. Foaly was there of course and Captain Stonecrop. Artemis Fowl was seated on a bench that had been brought in for him when it became clear that none of the fairy-sized chairs would do. Next to him, Captain Short's brow was furrowed and Klu shrank beneath her gaze when she glanced in his direction.

Foaly had had him come along for the meeting, though with the caveat that he was not to speak until spoken to. Klu had gotten something of a scare when he'd walked into the conference room and realized that Fowl wasn't in restraints. The most dangerous Mud Man known to the People and he wasn't even in cuffs! What had happened with the detention room cameras should be proof enough of that. He'd not been able to figure out what had caused the interference that had affected the detention room's surveillance equipment earlier, though it had lasted only a minute or two. He could only assume that it had been Fowl's doing.

"If everyone's here then let's get started," Commander Kelp said. He turned to look at Fowl. "I'm sorry to bring you down here under such conditions."

Fowl's lips twitched. "I'm sure you are, Commander."

"No hard feelings," the commander added.

"Of course not," Fowl replied, deadpan.

Captain Short huffed with apparent exasperation. "What exactly has Artemis done to warrant such treatment from the People?" The commander raised an eyebrow. "Recently, I mean," Captain Short amended, colouring. "And why didn't you send me? He'd have come quietly if I'd asked." She glanced at Fowl as if to double check.

"That's exactly why we didn't send you. We had to handle things this way, Captain," the commander said.

"Why?"

They all turned to look at Fowl as he spoke. "Opal Koboi."

Klu shuddered. Five years and still they'd not captured the Opal Koboi who'd come from the past thanks to Fowl's time travel stunt. Her first act, of course, had been to break her future self out of prison. Five years of havoc thanks to the demented pixies. On the other hand, Klu had been able to afford a luxury resort vacation package to Atlantis thanks to all the overtime he'd logged due to Koboi's antics.

"You were aware she was monitoring your communications?" Commander Kelp said.

Fowl nodded. "Yes. I noticed almost immediately."

Commander Kelp tilted his head to peer at Fowl. "And you let her keep monitoring you?"

"_Scientia est potentia_," Fowl said with a smirk. "If I know she's listening, I can control what she hears."

Captain Short was shaking her head. "So that's why... I _thought_ you were being dodgy when we last spoke."

He nodded and turned to catch Short's gaze. "I'm sorry, Holly. I didn't dare say more when I knew Opal could be listening, and I wished to avoid outright lying to you."

A wisp of a smile touched her lips. "I understand, Artemis."

"We needed to bring you down here in a manner that wouldn't lead Koboi to suspect we were on to her," Commander Kelp said. Klu sighed. Well there went his theory. Clearly the other members of the LEP hadn't caught on to what was really going on between Fowl and Captain Short. If only he could figure out what sort of hold Fowl had on the captain. It must be some form of illicit human magic; the way he stared into her eyes, it was so very reminiscent of the _mesmer_.

"So if you know Koboi's been piggybacking on your transmissions," Foaly began, "then you must've already figured out what she's up to."

Fowl straightened. "I've traced her signals to Phonetix and after a bit of research I discovered that Opal – the Opal from the present – has ensconced herself within the Phoentix R&D sector."

"Exactly," Foaly said. All eyes turned to the conference room screen as Foaly called up an image. It was Opal certainly, though she looked more human than pixie now. Her features had become more angular with less of the softness that gave pixies their child-like appearance, though in human terms she looked no older than Artemis himself. "She's managed to create an elaborate alter ego as a Dutch scientific prodigy, Drika Heveldt, complete with fake degrees, awards, papers, newspaper clippings – the works. And it looks like she has something nasty planned. Any guesses, Mud Man?"

"Feel free to further enlighten me, Foaly."

Foaly neighed with obvious pleasure. "If you insist. It's recently come to our attention, thanks to my new Spy-aware software – patent pending on that one– " he added reaching for his digi-pen and making a note to himself. "It's come to our attention that she's managed to get her hands on the components necessary to build a DNA cannon. Some of the parts are hard to acquire aboveground but she's been up to her old tricks, using the goblins for smuggling and such and she's managed to get the materials she needs."

"And now the components and, most likely, a DNA cannon prototype are in the Phonetix building, correct?"

Foaly nodded, stamping a hoof on the floor for good measure. "Exactly. We can send a team in there to fetch it of course–"

"But then you would lose your edge," Fowl cut in. "Opal would know that you're aware of her activities."

"You see the problem," the commander said. "We need to retrieve the components without tipping our hand."

"And so you need my assistance to play the part of the patsy." Fowl looked quite thoroughly self-satisfied now.

Captain Short was another matter. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she sat quite stiffly in her seat. Klu shrank beneath her gaze as she scowled in his direction. Did she realize he'd been tracking her communications with the Mud Man? "Commander, why wasn't I informed of any of this? I have extensive experience with Opal Koboi."

Kelp's lips twitched. "A fact we're all well aware of, Holly. It was necessary. It's well known that you keep in touch with Artemis Fowl and I decided it wasn't worth the risk of leaking information. We needed to make sure she didn't suspect a thing."

Captain Short was still fuming. "Yes, sir," she said. "I see, sir."

"If the plan works," Folay said turning to Fowl, "we'll have the cannon, and Opal will hold you responsible, leaving us free to continue monitoring her."

"A pleasure, I'm sure," Fowl replied.

"All right, so here's the plan," Foaly began, and at the touch of a button a schematic of the Phonetix research and development building appeared on the central screen. All eyes turned to the image, but Klu instead found himself darting a glance towards Fowl and the captain. Fowl's arm moved below the table as if reaching for something. The captain turned to look at him and again their eyes locked.

Klu made a mental note to do some research into human hypnotism.

**ooo**

Reclining into the seat at his console, Klu basked in the sweet aura of triumph. He'd actually gotten to speak at a senior meeting! Only a few lines detailing some of the signals information he'd gathered at Foaly's request, but even so... It had been a planning session for a priority LEP operation!

The thrill of his triumph was enough to stave off the fatigue of the extra hours – that and the nettle-flavoured energy shakes he'd been guzzling. Maybe it was buzz of the energy drinks reacting with his magic, but he felt more than a little jittery when he replayed in his thoughts the conversation he'd chanced to overheard after the meeting. After returning to his desk he'd realised that he left one of his e-reports in the conference room. When he'd gone to retrieve it, he'd found Foaly and Captain Short still there.

"Armed guards, a holding cell... Artemis has agreed to help and he's still being treated like a criminal."

"I hate to point out the obvious, Holly, but..."

She sniffed. "You know it's not that simple."

"I do," Foaly said. "But the Council doesn't. And even the commander has serious doubts about Fowl."

Holly shook her head. "All the more reason to send me on this mission. I can keep an eye on Artemis." She stared hard at Foaly as he swished his tail in agitation. "Foaly?"

"The thing is, Holly... The commander's worried that you might be too close to the situation."

"Too close?" Holly echoed.

"That your judgment might be impaired. He knows that you and Artemis are..."

"Close?" she supplied flatly.

"Yes. Close."

"My relationship with Artemis doesn't make me any less good of a Recon officer." The captain's eyes had a spark in them that made Klu feel he would wither on the spot were she to notice him there. That was when he'd opted to leave.

Back at his desk, Klu mused over what he'd heard. Her "relationship" with Fowl. Surely that was as good as an admission, especially when combined with everything else. Now if he could only figure out what Fowl had to gain. Certainly there were benefits to having a fairy under your sway, not the least of which was having access to her healing magic, an ability Fowl had exploited more than once in the past. There was also the link it gave him to the LEP itself, to the department's resources and personnel. Rumour had it he even had the young warlock No 1 under his thumb.

_'That depends... on whether you give me Holly.' 'Okay, Mud Boy, I'm all yours.'_ It seemed hard to ignore now. Fowl had somehow made a deal years ago that had put Holly Short under his power. Had Commander Root (gods rest his soul) really sanctioned this? Surely it wasn't possible...

Klu found himself tapping in to the Police Plaza security feed. Being an intercept specialist had its advantages: he had access to all the audiovisual equipment in the entire facility and had the authorization to review all but a handful of signals. It took him only a few moments to locate Fowl. There in the lobby with his LEP escort. And Captain Short as well, he couldn't help but notice.

He also couldn't help but notice the chain gang of goblins beings carted in by a team of heavily armed officers. Half a dozen goblins, all cuffed. The group escorting Fowl paused to let them through. Fowl's escort kept their eyes on the goblins. Fowl meanwhile had turned to Captain Short. The audio was terrible. Klu couldn't make out a word with the grumblings of the goblins and the click of their clawed toes on the floor tiles. He adjusted the filter settings, trying to drown out the goblins, the yammering of the pixie in the booking line swearing his innocence, and his arresting officers insisting that he settle down and be quiet before he pulled out his buzz baton.

Fowl and the captain were having what looked like a heated discussion. The Mud Man leaned forward then to reach down and place his hands on Captain Short's shoulders. Their eyes met, staring. He's doing it again, thought Klu as he fiddled with the filters, trying to drown out layer upon layer of ambient noise. Something about his eyes made it impossible for the captain to look away. Her hands gripped the Mud Man's forearms.

Finally Klu managed to get audio just in time for a handful of words to slip through.

'I want you, Holly.'

That was when the goblins broke loose.

Somehow, against all odds, the six sets of cuffs restraining the goblins failed simultaneously, loosing the reptilian fairies in the middle of the Police Plaza lobby. Klu watched in stunned amazement as they all rushed in the same direction... right towards Fowl.

"Get down!" Captain Short snarled, shoving the Mud Man to the floor and reaching for the weapon at her side. The arresting officers as well as Fowl's escort were all raising their weapons, but one of the goblins had already summoned a fireball. The blast roared towards Captain Short and Fowl before she could even get a shot off. She launched herself to the ground overtop the Mud Man and the fireball swept over them and crashed into the reception desk across the room.

Klu's head spun. He could hear the sound of shots both from the feed and from down the hall, echoing through Police Plaza. Sweat beaded his neck and trailed down his spine as a frantic firefight broke out in the lobby.

Mere moments dragged on into ages as fireballs and LEP weapons blasts flashed on his screen. Three of the goblins quickly went down to the fire from the team that had brought them in, but the other three had managed to subdue Fowl's pair of escorts who were lying on the floor, slightly crisped, blue sparks dancing over their burnt flesh.

Captain Short was shooting from a crouch, stunning the first goblin before he could let loose another fireball. She rolled to one side as a second one launched itself at her with its bare hands – clawed hands, mind you. A shot from an LEP blaster took the creature in the back. Fowl clambered onto his hands and knees and Captain Short was already scrabbling back towards him as the last goblin raised his hand, conjuring a fireball. It blazed around his fist and the goblin's tongue darted out, teeth bared in a reptilian smile. She got off a final shot at the same moment as the goblin loosed his fireball... directly at Fowl.

The captain launched herself towards the Mud Man, flattening him against the floor again. The fireball soared over them, but through the roar of the flames, Klu heard a sharp cry from the captain.

And then just like that it was over.

The six goblins had all been subdued and lay prone on the floor. For the briefest of moments all was still. But then the LEP officers sprang into action, securing the goblins and checking on the wounded. Klu's eyes turned to Captain Short and the Mud Man.

The captain grimaced as she drew herself up. Already, magic was dancing over the singed skin on her neck and cheek that had not been covered by her protective LEP uniform. Fowl was raising himself on knees and elbows, looking shaken. "Artemis? Are you all right? Let me take a look at you."

He sat up. "I'm fine." His eyes scanned over her and he reached out, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder as he tilted his head to inspect her burns. "You're injured."

She shook her head – and winced. "I'll be fine in a minute. I keep my magic topped up these days," she added with a smirk. "I'm not about to make that mistake twice."

Their eyes had locked once again.

They both spun in the direction of the entryway as a team of armed LEP officers charged into the room.

"It seems the cavalry has arrived," Fowl said.

"Just in time," Captain Short muttered.

Sagging back into his chair, Klu thanked the gods, not for the first time that week, that he had a work station at the far end of Police Plaza.


	5. Four: All the World's a Stage

**Four: All the World's a Stage**

They were assembled once more in the conference room, grim-faced and wrinkling their noses at the burnt smell that clung to everyone who had been in the lobby during the incident. Between the grass stains and the singes, Fowl's suit was looking rather the worse for wear. Klu tried not to stare at the Mud Man, but it was difficult not to after what he'd overheard.

"You're certain this room in safe against eavesdropping, Foaly?" the commander asked.

"Absolutely. There's nothing for Koboi to tap into here and I've scanned for bugs. We're clear. She'd have to be outside the door to listen in."

"And is she outside the door, Foaly?" Commander Kelp said.

Foaly hesitated and pressed some keys on his portable console. "No," he said. "She's definitely not."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Commander Kelp turned his gaze to the Mud Man. "You do seem to attract trouble, don't you, Fowl?"

"Coming from you, Commander, that's almost a compliment," the Mud Man said, a ghost of a smile on his pale face. He waved a hand dismissively. "But we've no time for pleasantries, do we? One thing is certain now: LEP communications have been compromised."

Foaly snorted and grumbled something under his breath that didn't sound entirely polite, Klu thought.

"The first question," Fowl continued without glancing at the centaur, "is how much does Opal know about your plans?"

The commander shook his head. "The details of the operation have only been discussed in this room. And there's no surveillance here." A pause. "Correct, Foaly?"

"None at all." Foaly looked slightly offended by the question, his lower lip drooping in a pout.

Fowl nodded. "So Opal is likely unaware of the details of your plan, but is almost certainly aware of LEP involvement at this point. Fortunately, she should still be unaware that we know of her monitoring of my communications."

"We do know one thing we didn't before," Foaly put in. "In order to pull off that stunt with the goblins Koboi – the one from the past – would have to be here in Haven. She couldn't have pulled off that stunt remotely. She has to be close by."

Commander Kelp shook his head. "Why would Koboi do it, though? She'd have to know we'd realize that she's compromised LEP security."

Foaly snorted. "Koboi's unstable. I've been saying so for _years_. And she's only gotten worse since she woke from her coma. It's not surprising at all that she'd be willing to tip her hand for a chance at revenge." He straightened. "I'm only surprised she didn't have any of her lap-goblins come after me as well."

Holly rolled her eyes. "Only you would consider an assassination attempt as a compliment."

"In light of this development," Fowl cut in before Foaly could retort, "there will have to be a few alterations to the original plan." All eyes turned to Fowl. "We will still proceed with two teams, but we shall have to lead Opal along with a trickle of false information first. I'll need to contact Butler and allow Opal to overhear me. Also I will need Captain Short on my team."

Commander Kelp crossed his arms. "Why am I not surprised. And why is that, Fowl?"

"Simply put, Commander, Opal will be expecting it and for this plan to work I must play right into her hands."

The commander heaved a sigh. "All right. Have it your way. Captain Short, I take it you've got no objections to being on Fowl's team for this operation?"

Klu had the impression that the captain was trying very hard to hide a smile. "None, sir."

"So, Fowl," said the commander, "what are these modifications exactly?"

**ooo**

"I don't like this plan, Artemis," Captain Short said, arms crossed, a scowl marring her lovely features. It was too bad she was so terrifying, Klu thought – she was rather pretty. "You're using yourself as bait."

"You know my plans have a long history of success."

She shook her head. "Maybe, but they don't always turn out quite the way you intended." She sighed, shoulders sagging for a moment, weariness etched on every feature. "You know, I used to hope I would be there the day you slipped up..."

"I certainly hope you are." He was wearing one of his smug smiles. She looked up at him. "Who else can I count on to help me up?"

Smiling, she punched him in the arm. "You've come a long way, Mud Boy. Now what is it exactly you need Opal to overhear?" Klu shrank back as the captain turned to look to the doorway where he was standing. "And speaking of overhearing..."

"Sorry, Captain," Klu said, shuffling forward. "I'll be your contact for the operation. I just needed to check if you were ready to carry out phase one."

Fowl nodded. "Yes, let's proceed."

Klu set up his equipment to get a feed on Opal's signal. He was a little miffed that Foaly has asked him to monitor Fowl's communication but hadn't told him that to look for a piggybacking signal. Apparently Fowl was well versed in the use of fairy communicators – and in fact seemed to be in possession of one disguised as an elaborate ring – and within moments the call went through. With a few commands to his console, Klu had the signal. Leaning back into his chair, he did what he did best: he listened.

"Artemis, is that you?"

"Butler, it's good to hear your voice," Fowl said, holding his finger and thumb like a make-believe phone and speaking into his little finger, which transmitted his voice to his fairy communicator.

"We've been worried, Artemis."

"I'm sorry, old friend. I'm afraid I was rather unexpectedly recruited for a little job by the LEP. I'll be heading to Chicago shortly. Could you let everyone know that I'm fine? Tell them I had to leave for an emergency meeting with Phonetix."

"All right." There was a moment's pause and then. "Is Holly with you?"

"Yes. She's right here. She'll be coming along. There's no need to be concerned."

"All right, Artemis. But be careful."

"Of course."

Fowl ended the call and nodded in satisfaction. "Opal will be expecting us now. I trust she'll prepare accordingly. Were you able to detect Opal's signal?"

Klu nodded. "Now that I knew what to look for, yes." He prided himself on the fact that he managed to keep his knees from shaking while being trapped in the same room as Artemis Fowl. True, Captain Short was here, but who knew what she was capable of while Fowl had her in his clutches. "Is there anything else you need? Besides the standard equipment I mean."

"A clean suit," Fowl replied. "And a shaving kit," he added, running his hand over the bristle on his chin. "After all, I will be meeting with Phonetix's head of research and development."

Short's lips were quirked. "You do look a bit scruffy just now."

He straightened, squaring his shoulders. "Some might call it ruggedly handsome."

"No," Short said, shaking her head and peering up at him, eyebrows raised, "I think the word you're looking for is 'unkempt.'"

"If everything's set then I'll–" Klu cleared his throat, wincing at the sound of his own voice, which was suddenly pitched quite a bit higher than normal. "I'll be on my way."

He moved towards the door but then paused and glanced over his shoulder. Captain Short was still standing next to Fowl. She glared at Klu when she noticed him. "Yes?"

"N– nothing," he stammered and then scampered out of the conference room. But even as he left he could hear Fowl's voice.

"No rest for the wicked," Fowl said.

"Speak for yourself, Artemis. I'm going to go take a nap before we board the shuttle."

And then he quickened his pace as he realized he was still visible where he'd paused in the doorway. And Captain Short was almost as terrifying as the Mud Man.


	6. Five: Merely Players

**Five: Merely Players**

Klu's stomach roiled and complained most vociferously as he scanned the channels he would need to monitor for the length of the operation. He was torn about which was worse: the feed from the LEP helmet cams or the one from Artemis's iris cam. Each jolted and swayed in a manner which Klu found most unpleasant to watch.

Groaning, Klu swallowed hard as Fowl's iris cam feed swung upwards, allowing for a good look at the Phonetix R&D building. It was less than imposing on the outside, appearing no more than a low-level office building and giving no clue to the labs burrowed deep into the ground.

"It has been a while, hasn't it, Holly?" Fowl mused as they stood before the edifice – or rather as he stood and she hovered nearby, shielded.

"This is no time to reminisce. Are you ready?" Glancing at Captain Short's helmet feed, Klu had a view of Fowl. His suit was neatly pressed and his face was clean-shaven, nothing like the slightly scruffy figure of last night.

Fowl glanced down at the briefcase clasped in his hand. A handcuff peeked out from his sleeve and connected to the case's handle. "A bit over dramatic, don't you think? Especially given the self-destruct mechanism."

"I'm sure Foaly's not planning to maim you, Artemis." A pause. "Almost sure. In any case it's time to go."

They crossed the street and walked into the lobby of the Phonetix building. "I have an appointment to see Dr. Grenham," Artemis announced. It took only moments for the security guard to check Artemis's credentials.

A minute or so later the doctor himself, a middle-aged man with a mop of salt and pepper hair, joined them. He adjusted the pair of square glasses perched on his nose as he approached Fowl. "Mr. Fowl, welcome," he said, shaking the younger man's hand and then showing him the way to his office.

Klu took his eyes off the swaying cam feeds for a moment to check in with Foaly. "Are you getting all this, sir?"

"Got it, Suspean. My team's on the move. Keep your eyes on your own team."

"Yes, sir."

Fowl had made it to Grenham's office, invisible escort in tow. They took a seat on either side of a glass and steel desk with matching chairs and Fowl swung the briefcase onto his lap. Grenham adjusted his glasses again, eyes hovering over the case. "So you have something to show me, then? I had to clear my schedule to see you so I very much hope it'll be worth my while."

"And indeed it shall." Fowl made a show of turning away from Grenham in order to key in the code on his cuffs and on the briefcase before laying it out on the doctor's desk and swinging it open.

Grenham peered into the case and then adjusted his glasses once more. "You've brought me... an iPod Touch?"

A cold smile touched Fowl's lips. "Hardly, doctor. This is a prototype of my own design. A communications device so advanced it will make your latest Phonetix designs look like a telegraph machine." It was in fact a stripped down version of a fairy communicator – and an old model at that – but it would be easily ten years ahead of anything Phonetix had in the making.

Grenham leaned back into his chair. "I'm listening, Mr. Fowl."

"The device allows for standard communication functions of course, providing both audio and visual, but it is highly adaptable and will work in all regions. And, of course, it allows for wireless interface with any home computer, media, or software regardless of format." Grenham was starting and a fleeting thought passed through Klu's mind about Fowl's apparent ability to entrance people.

"How?"

"A special Rosetta software of my own creation. It can adapt to and read anything. Naturally it can perform all the standard functions people expect these days: organise your schedule, manage all your accounts, pick up television and internet signals, play MP3s. The works, doctor."

For a long moment there was silence. Grenham's eyes were wide. "Mr. Fowl that's..." He adjusted his glasses. "If that prototype can really do what you say, it could replace nearly every media device out there and put Phoentix leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. But tell me this, why would you choose our company?"

Fowl's smile was that of a predator about to leap upon its prey. "Because, Doctor Grenham, I'm currently in control of 27.5% of Phonetix's stock."

Grenham blanched. "But how did you–"

"These are the accounts in question," Fowl said, calling up the information on his prototype. "All subsidiaries of Fowl Enterprises. Please, call your CEO if you need to confirm. "

Adjusting his glasses once more, Grenham glanced at the screen and then sagged back into his chair. "No," he said quietly. "That... that won't be necessary."

"So, Doctor, will Phonetix be interested in developing my prototype?"

"Of course. We'll need to verify your claims and I'm not authorized to negotiate about this sort of thing – we normally develop our own patented technologies. As you know," he added hastily as Fowl watched with him, one eyebrow cocked. "But I can guarantee that our company will be interested in your design."

Fowl nodded. "Good," he said. "Then I have only one request."

Grenham's brow furrowed. "Request?"

"Yes. I would like to meet with Doctor Drika Heveldt."

"Doctor Heveldt?"

"We're old acquaintances," Fowl said, steepling his fingers.

"She's in the laboratory at present. I could try to call down to her but if she's in the middle of a sensitive operation then she likely won't answer."

"I would very much like to surprise her. Perhaps you could give me a brief tour of the labs?"

Klu straightened as he heard Captain's Short's voice coming over the comm system. She would be speaking in barely more than a whisper but he could hear her perfectly thanks to the supremely sensitive equipment. "Are you ready?"

"Y– yes, Captain."

He heard a slight rumble over the comm line – a suppressed groan perhaps. Apparently the captain was not convinced of his readiness.

"I'm afraid the labs are for authorized personnel only," Grenham was saying. "I'm afraid I can't–"

"Oh I understand, of course," Fowl cut in. "Perhaps this will change your mind, however," he said, reaching for the communicator and pressing a few of the touch pads. Klu took a deep breath as Fowl handed the communicator to Grenham and a new window opened up on Klu's console.

Klu took a deep breath. His hands were shaking. "_Doctor Grenham_," he said, his voice laced with the _mesmer_. The doctor blinked once and peered into the screen. Klu tried to ignore the perspiration beading on his brow. His magic was flowing well enough – he'd performed the ritual not six months ago – but it had been years since he'd used the _mesmer_... not since that unfortunate incident during a family vacation in the old country when he'd run into a tiny Mud Girl who'd been looking for Leprechauns and, upon seeing him, had demanded that he hand over his pot of gold.

"Concentrate," Captain Short hissed over the comm line.

"_Doctor Grenham_," Klu began again, letting the magic coil around his vocal chords, dance in eyes, and flow out of him. "_Won't you take Artemis to visit the labs? I would appreciate it very much if you did_."

Eyes fixed on the screen, Grenham licked his lips. "It's– it's restricted access. I really can't allow..."

"_Artemis only wants to visit an old friend_," Klu went on, nudging, cajoling with his magic. Commander Kelp had been very clear that he was to avoid putting too much force into the _mesmer_; Grenham was an innocent in all this and frying his brain cells would reflect badly on the LEP.

"A friend, yes..." Grenham murmured.

"_And he already owns so much of the company. He only wants the best for Phonetix. It really couldn't do any harm to let him through._"

"Well," Grenham began thoughtfully, "I suppose it couldn't do any harm to let Mr. Fowl visit an old friend. Just a brief visit."

"_Of course. A brief visit. You won't even need to be there. Just take Artemis down and Doctor Heveldt can show him back up. And then you can forget all about it. You and Artemis had a friendly business meeting – that's all. Nothing remarkable happened."_

"Nothing at all," echoed Grenham.

"_Thank you, Doctor Grenham."_

Grenham blinked once when the signal cut out and he found himself peering at the blank screen of the communicator. He adjusted his glasses and looked up at Fowl. "A brief tour would be fine. After all, you're practically part of the Phoentix family now, Mr. Fowl."

Klu sagged in his chair and wiped his brow. Thank the gods that was over with. He'd have preferred it if Captain Short had been able to mesmerise the doctor, but they could not afford to have her do so without risking a later phase of the plan, and since Foaly, being a centaur, had no magic of his own, the task had fallen to Klu. He'd better get a promotion for this; using the _mesmer_ had never been in the job description of data analyst.

Fowl had replaced the communicator in the briefcase and was following the doctor out of his office. Klu went to work setting up a false camera feed. Unless they wanted to perform mass mind wipes, which would be disastrous, they would need to erase any trace of Fowl from the cameras as he went with doctor Grenham to the underground labs. Foaly's team had already set up interface with the closed-system security so it was easy now to cover Fowl's trail.

So far, everything was going according to plan.

The journey to the underground labs was uneventful and they encountered no one on the way. Grenhamn keyed in his access and led Fowl to the laboratory where Opal – or Doctor Heveldt as he kept calling her – was working. He paused as they arrived at the door to the lab.

"Here we are, Mr. Fowl." He reached out and offered Artemis his hand. "It was lovely meeting with you. Even if nothing remarkable happened at all."

"A pleasure," Artemis replied, his face a mask of calm.

With that, doctor Grenham made his way back to his office. There was one complication out of the way. Now there was just the slight matter of Opal Koboi.

"Are we ready?" Fowl asked.

Klu waited a moment to get confirmation from his team and from Foaly's. "We're clear, Fowl. Proceed as planned."

"Into the lion's den," Fowl said and then opened the door to the lab and walked in.

It was empty. Except for a very big gun.

The weapon rested on a counter, the muzzle pointed towards the door. Its metallic sides lay open, revealing a mesh of fiberoptic cables and computer chips as well as the telltale orange pulse of a plasma feed. Though the latest DNA cannons used by the LEP were portable, Opal's prototype was much bulkier, perhaps due to the fact that it was being cobbled together from human technology and smuggled fairy parts.

"That's definitely a DNA cannon," Klu confirmed.

Fowl straightened as the cannon emitted a loud beep.

"I would suggest that you _do not_ move, Artemis Fowl," said a female voice from somewhere above. Klu shuddered. Opal Koboi. "My cannon has locked on to your DNA sequence. I can remote fire the cannon at any time."

Klu did a quick scan. "Loudspeaker in the upper right corner," he announced. Fowl was

too preoccupied with not moving to respond. On the up side, thought Klu, at least the iris cam feed had steadied somewhat, which suited his irascible stomach.

"Artemis Fowl," drawled the voice of Opal Koboi. "How I have longed for this day. And here you deliver yourself into my hands. I could not have asked for more."

"Hiding, Opal?" Fowl said, his lips curved in a smug smile. "How unlike you."

"I will allow you the privilege resting your eyes on my face one last time, Fowl, but not just yet." The DNA cannon emitted another beep and a beam shot out of it striking to Artemis's left. A smothered grunt and the thud of a body hitting the floor.

"Holly!"

"Ah-ah. No moving," Opal chided. The cannon had beeped once more and was again locked on to Fowl.

Klu's head was spinning. He'd been staring straight at the helmet cam feed when the beam had struck and the image had veered wildly. The vertigo he'd felt earlier was nothing compared to this. Idly, he wondered if this is what it had felt like for a fairy who entered a human dwelling uninvited, back before the warlock No 1 had removed the _geis_. Book barf, they called it...

Laugher like the warble of an inebriated thrush was tinkling through the loudspeaker. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice that you brought your LEP friend along? I can see her thermal readings clearly and my new cannon can compensate for that silly centaur's latest Shimmer Suits."

Klu caught his breath as a door at the opposite end of the laboratory opened and Opal Koboi waltzed into the room. Though her chin had the same point and her build was still petite, she looked very little like a fairy any longer. Still shorter than Fowl, she would nevertheless have towered over any elf, let alone a pixie, and the roundness of her surgically altered ears was so unnatural that it made Klu dizzy. Or maybe that was the way the cam feeds were swaying – he couldn't be sure.

She glanced at the spot where the cannon had fired but there appeared to be nothing there. "Cam foil _and_ a Shimmer Suit?" Opal said, advancing to have a better view of the spot. "Were you hoping to have your friend help you disappear after you'd stolen my precious cannon, Fowl?"

"If you've harmed Holly..."

"Only stunned. For now. I want you to see her perish. And then you yourself will perish."

Fowl heaved a sigh. "Melodrama indeed," he said, staring straight ahead at Opal.

"Avert your eyes," she shrieked. "It's bad for my skin."

Fowl fixed his eyes on the DNA cannon. "I thought you said I'd have the privilege of resting my eyes on your face one last time."

"A few seconds is enough. Your staring makes my skin wither. Human skin is so delicate. Do you know how much I must spend on ridiculous wrinkle creams now? All because of you."

Fowl arched an eyebrow. "If I recall correctly, it is you, not I, who decided to have a human pituitary glad implanted."

"Insolence," she hissed "I know what you're thinking, Fowl. I always know. You're waiting for your little friend to wake up and shoot me, aren't you?" Fowl remained silent and kept his eyes on the DNA cannon. "Now this is what you're going to do... You will remove the cam foil from Short and then you will slide her weapon over to me. With your foot. And remember, my cannon is trained on your DNA."

"As you wish," Fowl said. He bent, groping for the invisible form crumpled on the floor and then closed his fist on the cam foil covering it and pulled it back.

Opal shrieked.


	7. Six: The Opal Deception

**Six: The Opal Deception**

"Where is Short?" Opal screeched, for the body lying prone on the laboratory floor was not that of Holly Short, but of a male elf in an LEP Shimmer Suit, clutching a hank of red hair. Klu winced in sympathy for Captain Stonecroft. Being charged with drawing the DNA cannon's fire was probably not his shining moment in the LEPrecon squad. Cannon-fodder, he'd grumbled. "Where is she?"

From Fowl's iris cam he watched a shot fire from directly behind Opal. From Captain Short's helm cam he saw the Neutrino blast strike the pixie in the back and watched her crumple to the floor. Perfect. "I'm right here," Captain Short announced.

"Nicely done," Fowl said. "Now perhaps you could deactivate the DNA cannon, if you please."

"I'm working on it," Short announced, dropping her shield and moving towards the cannon. Klu stared at her through the iris feed; she was quite the sight. Instead of a standard issue Shimmer Suit she was wearing a reflective foil suit. She heaved a sigh as she pulled off the helmet, her brow slick with sweat. "It's hard to move in this thing. It's twice my size."

"I'm afraid they don't manufacture fire suits in elfin measurements." The fire suits had been a stroke of genius. Klu had read the reports on the goblin rebellion so he had appreciated the irony of the LEP using Opal's own trick against her. She had expected to see one thermal reading and they had provided her with that along with a bit of Holly's DNA should Opal choose to use the cannon. She'd fallen for it completely.

Captain Short inspected the cannon's controls for several moments before finally tapping at the keys. There was a slight hum from the weapon and then nothing. Success.

The captain breathed a sigh of relief. "Suspean, we're clear. What about team tw–"

The sound of blasters from the next room was answer enough.

"Artemis, get down!" she shouted, reaching for her weapon and struggling to move in the oversized fire suit.

Klu tore his eyes away to check on Foaly's feed. "Sir, what's happening?"

"We've got another Opal on our hands," Foaly snapped.

"But I thought she was–"

"Forget what we thought! She's here and team two is under fire."

"Did you get that, Captain Short?" Klu said through his team's feed. "The other Opal Koboi is present. Team two is under heavy fire."

Short turned to Fowl. "You stay here with Stonecrop. I'm going to–" She didn't get any further with that thought before the door to the next room was blown off its hinges by Neutrino fire. A jet of lightning it seemed – magic bolts – followed and an LEP officer went flying across the room to thud against the far wall, blue sparks immediately flowing in and around him forming a cocoon of magic. Klu winced. Must be serious.

Short dashed behind one of the laboratory's counters for cover. Klu's stomach, meanwhile, seemed to dash itself against his rib cage as the helmet cam image jolted violently. He groaned and clutched at his belly.

The screen swung wildly again as the captain darted a glance towards the doorway only to see Opal Koboi – the Opal from the past, red sparks fizzing around her fingers. A bolt shot in the direction of the helm cam which was quickly jerked back. Klu's stomach lurched.

Klu checked the iris cam and found Fowl had a visual on Opal. She had paused next to the stunned pixie and blue magic was streaming from her hands. "Wake up, you ninny," she hissed at her future self.

A magic bolt leaped from of her hand as Captain Short took a shot with her Neutrino. The shot went wild but the bolt blew chunks out of the counter behind which Short was ducked. Something must have struck the captain for the feed on her helmet cam spun wildly and came to rest pointed at the ceiling. And at this point Klu's stomach could take no more.

Klu scrabbled for his waste recycling bin and promptly threw up.

When he was finished and he looked up at his screen again, he saw that present Opal was back on her feet, Short was still on the floor, and Fowl had somehow managed to scrabble to her side.

"We need to get out of here," Opal was saying to herself.

"But the cannon–"

"Forget the cannon. Unless you want to go back to Howler's Peak."

"Team two is back on its feet," Foaly said over the channel. "Coming to back you up, Holly."

No sooner had he said it than a pair of LEP officers charged into the room, weapons firing. One of the shots clipped Opal but she fired another bolt and brought part of the ceiling down into the doorway. She staggered to her feet. "Hurry," she hissed to present Opal. "Even I cannot hold them off indefinitely."

As present Opal got up again, past Opal turned towards the Mud Man and the captain who was only now righting herself, judging by the way the image on Klu's screen was swerving. Luckily there was nothing left in Klu's stomach for it to complain about any longer.

Past Opal spun to launch another bolt towards the doorway where the LEP officers were breaking through. The bolt struck... but with less force than the last.

"I will have my vengeance. I _will_," shrieked present Opal, rather petulantly, Klu thought.

"Some criminal mastermind," he mumbled to no one in particular, but the words died on his lips as, watching the feed from Fowl's iris cam, he saw Opal pull something small and shiny from her pocket – a human weapon – a gun – and pull the trigger.

"Artemis!"

The iris cam feed had gone dark. The captain's helm cam swung around. She was shooting at the two Opals as they raced out of the lab, past Opal all but dragging her future self.

"D'Arvit!" They were gone.

And then the screen refocused on Fowl. His face was pale, paler even than usual, like arctic snow, and a flower of red was blossoming on his shirt. Captain Short was already laying her hands on him, preparing to use her magic when Foaly's voice came through the feed.

"Holly, wait."

She froze.

"You need to check for an exit wound. If the bullet's still in there when you heal him..."

"Right," she murmured. Short was breathing quickly now, and Klu watched her tear open Fowl's shirt with trembling hands. There was a bullet wound below his left collar bone. She slid her hand beneath his back and shoulder. "D'Arvit! The bullet's still in there."

Fowl groaned and his eyes flickered open. "Holly..."

Both of Klu's feeds showed separate pairs of mismatched blue and hazel eyes.

"You know what to do," Foaly said. "One quick pulse of magic."

The captain nodded, never looking away from Fowl. "Artemis, I'm going to heal you but the bullet's still in the wound. I'm going to have to force it out with my magic."

"So what you're saying," Fowl said, his voice little more than a hoarse whisper, "is that... this might hurt."

"What a time to develop a sense of humour," she said, but her features were drawn. She pressed her thumbs together, back to back and took a deep breath. "All right. Here goes." Fowl cried out as Captain Short jammed her thumbs into his wound. "There. It's there... Heal," she breathed. Blue sparks shot down her hands, pulsing into the wound. They disappeared into his flesh and she withdrew her fingers. There was a sort of rippling as bone and tissue began to knit back together from the outside in. Fowl yelled once more as a rounded shard of metal was forced out of the wound by the pressure of the rapidly healing tissue. She'd done it. Captain Short's magic had expelled the bullet.

Fowl's body shuddered as his injuries continued to heal, his back arching, teeth chattering. And then he lay quite still.

Short's eyes scanned the spot on his chest where the wound had been. Blood still clung to his skin and soaked his shirt, but when she reached down, there was only smooth skin beneath her fingertips. "Artemis, can you hear me?"

He groaned and moved to sit up. She steadied him as he wavered, still dizzy from the healing. He smiled wanly. "Thank you, Holly. It seems I owe you once again. Or perhaps we're even now. I'm afraid I've lost count."

Captain Short proceeded to throw her arms around the Mud Man. "You need to stop doing things like that. One of these days I won't be able to patch you up so easily."

Fowl groaned. "I'd hardly say that was easy."

She only let him go when the other LEP officers finally made it into the room.

"Okay there, Fowl?" Foaly said over the com channel.

"Yes," the Mud Man replied. "Let's proceed as planned." Captain Short kept a grip on his arm as he got to his feet; he still looked a bit shaky and was a shade paler than normal.

"I can't believe she shot you," Captain Short said, shaking her head. "With a Mud Man weapon."

"It seems she's embraced her new status as a human," Fowl replied. "I must admit that I hadn't anticipated that. Foaly, you were successful?"

"Of course." There was not a little smugness in the centaur's voice. "Records are wiped. We've got all her notes – or at least everything she's keeping onsite. Of course I did leave behind some incriminating evidence. Drika Heveldt's reputation won't be worth much after this."

Fowl nodded and, steadier now on his feet, retrieved the briefcase, which had been dropped during the scuffle. He removed the communicator from it and placed it on the cannon.

Two of the members of Foaly's team were helping Stonecrop to his feet. "Are we set, Foaly?" Captain Short asked.

"Ready when you are."

"Everyone, move out," she ordered. "Here," she added, tossing the cam foil to Fowl. "Cover up."

Moments after they hurried out of the lab, Foaly initiated the self-destruct on the communicator. The blast vibrated through the walls and immediately fire alarms blared to life and Phonetix researchers who hurried towards the emergency stairways. Klu watched the swaying cam feeds as his team and Foaly's hijacked an elevator and returned to the lobby.

He only breathed a sigh of relief when they were out of the building and on their way back to Haven.


	8. Seven: Clueless

**Seven: Clueless**

The atmosphere in the conference room was not especially cheerful. The two Phonetix teams had just returned, looking rather the worse for wear, Fowl especially as his shirt remained liberally caked with dried blood. Klu winced. He looked a right mess.

Commander Kelp had listened to the officers' reports and was now looking to Foaly. "I thought your information indicated that our time travelling Opal was somewhere here in Haven."

Foaly snorted. "She had to be in order to set the goblins loose. She couldn't have done that from the surface."

"And yet..."

"She must have had help, someone here in Haven."

Holly's brow was creased. "But the Brill brothers are still in Howler's Peak. And who else would help her?"

The question hung heavy over the assembled group. After all, it wouldn't be the first time that someone had aided and abetted Opal Koboi.

The commander sighed. "The other objectives were met, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Holly replied. "The DNA cannon was successfully destroyed and Opal won't be able to able to return to Phonetix or even use the same identity now that they know she was developing a weapon in their labs. She'll have to start from scratch."

"But currently we still have two Opals on the loose and we still don't know how she managed to breech our systems," Kelp said.

"We do still have one advantage, commander." Fowl looked for all the world as if he were in his best Armani suit, sitting at the head of a board room table... not on a bench in a torn and bloodied shirt, his hair mussed and dark circles beneath his eyes.

"And what would that be, Fowl?"

"Opal in still unaware that we know of her monitoring of my communications. I may still be able to hack into her system given a little more time. I'm completely confidant that she will be caught and returned to the past without her memory. It is inevitable."

"And why is that?" asked the commander.

"Simply put, because it has already happened. When Opal engineered the goblin rebellion she had no memory of me and possessed none of the powers her past self does. Obviously she was captured, mind-wiped, and returned to the past. It may even be the mind wipe itself that increased the instability already inherent in her personality."

Heads were nodding around the table. Klu's head just ached.

"Artemis..." Fowl turned to glance at the captain next to him. She looked grim. "You're holding back. We've known each other too long for these games. Spit it out. What's the catch?"

There was something in his mismatched eyes then and Klu made a point of looking elsewhere so as not to be caught in his human _mesmer_ or whatever power it was he had in that look. Klu had no doubt about it now, not after everything he'd seen. "The catch is the cost. I am certain we will capture her. What I cannot predict is what it will cost us."

There was silence for a long moment. "And with that cheerful thought," Foaly said, "I have a question... If both Opal Kobois were in that lab, why did she let us do our work before attacking my team? We'd finished wiping all the records before she showed up."

"What if the two Opals weren't working together as we all assumed?" Artemis suggested. "Perhaps she _wanted_ us to destroy the DNA cannon."

"Then why interfere at all?" countered the commander. "Why not just let us carry out our operation?"

"If we'd fully succeeded in our operation," Fowl replied, "we would have captured the present Opal. She seems to want her future self to remain free, perhaps in order to distract us as she – the time-travelling Opal – continues working towards whatever she is planning."

Silence fell heavy on the room once more as the LEP officers cast uneasy glances around the conference table.

"Commander, if that is all," Fowl began, "I would very much appreciate the opportunity to clean up and return to my home."

Commander Kelp nodded. "Yes, we're all done here." Everyone got to their feet and began filing out of the room, Fowl escorted by a brace of guards. "Holly, I need a word with you."

This time, Klu did not hang back to listen. He needed to get his evidence together and talk to Foaly about Fowl and his hold over Captain Short. Later. First he needed to get some rest – energy shakes could only carry you so far, especially on an empty stomach.

**ooo**

"More e-forms?" Foaly asked as Klu entered the ops room.

A meal and a full night's sleep had done him good. He was ready to present his case. "N– no, sir," Klu stammered. "I– I need to speak to you about a matter involving the security of Haven." Almost ready.

Foaly stopped what he was working on and turned to look at Klu. "Important intercept?"

"Actually, sir, it's about Artemis Fowl. You had me watching the feed during the operation..."

"Yes, and?"

Klu took a deep breath. "I believe that Artemis Fowl has designs upon Captain Short that are... less than honourable."

"Designs that–" Foaly snorted. "Are you out of your mind, Suspean?"

"I've been watching the intercepts, sir. Fowl and the captain are very chummy."

Foaly rolled his eyes. "They've known each other for near a decade, fought trolls, been stranded in Limbo, and time travelled together. Of course they're chummy. That's not classified information."

"It's more than that. They're... too close. He seems to have some sort of hold over the captain, like the _mesmer_ almost. And look at this, sir."

Klu played the feed from the police plaza cameras just before the goblin attack. He had watched it again and again, trying to understand the strange dynamic between the Mud Man and Captain Short, trying to understand what force, magical or otherwise bound them together.

Once more Klu watched the two in their heated discussion as the chain gang of goblins clicked past, marring the audio beyond repair. Fowl leaned down to place his hands on Captain Short's shoulders. Her hands gripped his forearms as he stared into her eyes and said, 'I want you, Holly.'

Klu stopped the recording and then turned to glance at his boss. He was a little disappointed to see only a smirk on the centaur's face. Foaly shook his head and began clacking away at his keyboard. "You know why you're still only a _junior_ analyst, Suspean? And no," he said before Klu's could reply, "it's not because of budget cuts. It's because you've still got a lot to learn." He paused a moment. "That and because you can't keep your lunch down during an operation."

Klu coloured. He had hoped that that information hadn't reached Foaly's ears. He supposed he ought to have known better. With all the blood running into his cheeks, it took Klu a moment to realize that Foaly was working on the recording, cleaning up the audio. He played it back again and again until Klu began to pick out words and then sentences. Within a few minutes, Foaly whinnied in triumph.

"Here we go. Now _this_ is how you clean up an audio signal." He started the recording.

'Trouble is going to ground me on this operation," Short was saying, a glower on her features. The words were crisp and clear; the racket that had previously drowned out the conversation, had vanished.

Fowl remained as calm as ever. 'I'll take care of it.'

Short took a deep breath and, not meeting Fowl's eyes said, 'Maybe Trouble's right, though. Maybe I am too close to the situation. Stonecrop is a good officer...'

'That's hardly the issue,' Fowl replied, shaking his head. 'I know what you're capable of, how your think. I won't risk adding another variable to the equation.'

'Artemis...'

Fowl leaned down to place his hands on the captain's shoulders. He looked into her eyes. 'I want _you_, Holly.'

Klu heard it clearly this time, the slight emphasis that had been drowned by the noise, but which changed everything. "Oh," was all Klu managed to get out. For a fleeting moment he thought of mentioning the other strange things he'd heard... but what if he was wrong about those too? What if he'd filled in the gaps wrong?

"Besides that," Foaly added, "they traded eyeballs while there were on Hybras. If someone else had one of your eyes you might stare too. So are we all clear, Suspean?"

"Yes, sir," Klu murmured.

With a sigh Klu trudged out of the room. There was still time to apply to the Atlantis tourism agency...


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Holly Short breathed deeply of the night air as it rushed past her. During her time in the LEPrecon squad, she'd travelled the surface world, but the air in the old country was the sweetest. It still had a whiff of magic to it.

Squeezing an acorn in her fist, Holly glanced up at the gibbous moon. Full would have been better of course, but she couldn't wait the extra days; her magic stores were precariously low after healing Artemis yesterday. A pang shot through her as she remembered the sight of him on the laboratory floor, his white shirt soaked through with blood. She pushed the thought away. Artemis was safe.

She checked her wrist locator to verify her position, but after all this time, she could have found her way blind; she knew this stretch of Irish countryside like she knew the hallways of police plaza.

Fowl Manor loomed ahead, a black shadow in the night, and her heart skipped a beat. She chided herself. _As bad as any schoolgirl_. Yet even so, she could not keep a smile from curving her lips.

She alighted within the manor's walled enclosure, undetected and – in theory – undetectable, shielded as she was. Tugging off her helmet, she paused a moment to glance up at the gargoyles that leered down at her from the manor, more like old friends now than the gruesome stone guardians they were meant to be. So much had happened here. So much had changed...

Though not quite full, the moonlight still sent a shiver down Holly's spine, the promise of magic thrilling through her. The image of Opal Koboi's human-like features darted through her thoughts and she shuddered. To be a magical creature and willingly give up your magic... Holly would never understand how Opal could do it, much less how she could bear it.

It was only when she came to the cluster of horse chestnuts and oaks that rose between her and the manor that Holly unshielded. She paused to lay her hand against the gnarled bark of an ash. The trees here were old, so old they almost had voices of their own. Though she was not certain she would enjoy all of what they would have had to say. They had, after all, watched over generations of Fowls. A breeze sent the tendrils of a willow waving as if in greeting and Holly smiled. At least some of the stories would be good ones.

Finally she came to a halt near a patch of ground from which sprouted a number of oak saplings. As she knelt down, acorn in hand, she found she was grinning in spite of herself.

"Bury it far from where it was found, so return your gift into the ground." She started as the voice rose out of her helmet.

"Foaly!"

"The last time I checked the Book, it didn't say anything about having to bury the seed at Fowl Manor."

"Spying on me?"

"I would never."

Holly rolled her eyes. "And _I_ would never break the rules."

"Speaking of which... One of these days, someone is going to figure out what you and Artemis have been up to."

Holly heard footsteps drawing closer and smiled. "We'll deal with that when the time comes. Now... are you going to be sticking around?"

A snort. "Sorry, you're breaking up. Must be some flares. Communications will probably be down until you get back."

"Goodbye, Foaly."

Once again, Holly knelt and dug her fingers into the earth until there was a small shallow in which to place her acorn. She dropped it in and even before she'd covered it again, she felt the magic rushing through her. Joy coursed through her veins along with magic as the familiar footfalls drew near.

"Holly."

Smiling, she turned to look up at Artemis. He was dressed casually – or at least as casual as he got – in a silk shirt, a pair of pleated woollen pants, and a matching jacket. He was pale and reedy, hardly the standard of masculine beauty by human or even elfin norms, but something about the way the breeze tousled his black hair made her pulse thrum.

"There's a stream not far from here," he said. "I've been thinking about how we could have it rerouted onto the property, preferably with a bend in it. I rather enjoy the idea of the People coming here one day to perform the Ritual."

Holly shook her head. "I can't imagine many fairies would come here willingly." And then, sorrow touching her features as she looked on the oak saplings, "You'd be long gone by then anyway."

"But you could come," he said quietly. "You will always be welcome here."

Holly stood, brushing the dirt off the knees of her Shimmer Suit, and then craned her neck to look up at Artemis. "You had to go and get tall," she said as she activated her wings. She hovered at eye level for a moment, her gaze locking with his. Even now, after all these years, when she looked into a mirror and saw that one blue eye staring back at her, she still thought of it as his. It was a part of her, but she would always remember him starting back at her. She remembered the cold blue eyes of the boy she'd met long ago, but in the eyes of the man staring back at her now was a warmth reserved, she knew, only for her.

She hovered closer until she was near enough to hold his face in her hands and press her lips against his. His hands came to rest on the small of her back, beneath the whirring mechanical wings.

After a moment she drew back and pressed her hand against his chest where he'd been shot. "You gave me a scare yesterday, you know."

His fingers trailed down her cheek. "I'm sorry, Holly. I assure you it's not an experience I care to repeat," he said, his lips curved into a sly smile.

"You'd better not," she whispered and then leaned in to kiss him again – but then stopped short.

"What is it?" Artemis said, his voice, slightly husky, sending shivers down her spine.

"Give me your jacket."

He peered at her with raised eyebrows but pulled off his jacket and handed it to her. She took it and proceeded to drop it overtop of her LEP helmet. "Just in case," she said with a wink.

And then she kissed him again until they were both too breathless to speak.

**The End**


End file.
